Nirukti
Nirukti (N4), the City of Joy, was the youngest of the Naga cities, the home of the Greensnakes. It had a river within its walls, Way of the Naga, pp. 108-109 and it was located near the northern shores of Lake of Cherry Blossom Snow Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 322 and not far from the Asp city of Siksa. The Atlas of Rokugan, p. 217 Features Observatory A tall tower in the northwestern corner of the city had a link to nearby trees, allowing the Naga to move along the branches. It was an observatory, used to chart the heavens and predict when to plant or harvest crops. Rituals to the Bright Eye and Pale Eye were conducted on the platform at the top, and the lower floors contained chambers for the vedics and astronomers. The adjoining building was a school for astronomers devoted to the Bright Eye. The Atlas of Rokugan, p. 218 Library The large building in the northeast was the Naga library. The chains dangling from tall, twisted steel spikes held shelves, and the balcony overlooking the whole was a reading room. Palace The Palace had had its dome decorated in gold, and the entrance were two curving ramps that stretched over the reflecting pool in front, terminating at an archway flanked by crystal obelisks (now fallen) and surmounted by a figure of intertwined snakes. This figure symbolized peace and harmony, as did the ramps. Pavillion A large pavilion was a beautiful mosaic dome ringed by ten pillars was used to deliver public announcements. A blessed pearl buried beneath protected the structure against damage. It had a bathing pool in the southwest. Great Temple The Great Temple on the eastern edge of the city was home to Nirukti's Constrictor-born High Vedic, with a gold-and-silver statue of the Qatol. The temple eventually became tainted and the statue was blackened and broken at the waist. The Atlas of Rokugan, p. 219 Smaller Buildings Nirukti also boasted small houses, a great marketplace, several obelisks, and an enormous plaza in front of the palace. Legend said that Togashi himself took one of the city's missing pillars and erected it somewhere in the mountains of the Dragon Clan, in memory of the lost Naga race. Destroyed The Scorpion discovered the ruins of the city near the edge of the Shinomen Forest, and it still stood beautiful and pristine. The tremendous serpent-carvings that predated the Fall of the Kami were seen as superstitious relics of the tribal era of Rokugan's clans. Way of the Naga, p. 23 It was destroyed by the troops of Emperor Hantei XI Belonging, by Nancy Sauer in 511, declaring the city a blasphemous abomination. Creatures of Rokugan; Third Edition, p. 19 He issued an Imperial edict that prohibited any Rokugani from entering it. Legend of the Five Rings; Fourth Edition, p. 364 Cursed The destruction in the 6th century killed many Naga who were deep in the Great Sleep, and some of their spirits lingered there. The wrath of their great war-leader called the Jerish made the ruins lethal to any who dared enter. This spirit would be in the 12th century, in a human body as the Crab Clan samurai Hida Fubatsu. Decay The ruins of Nirukti were surrounded by a poison marsh, Poison Marsh (Heaven and Earth flavor) and the Great Temple of Nirukti was corrupted. Way of the Naga, p. 110 After the second Great Sleep it was guarded by bushi from the Unicorn and Crab clans, though no Rokugani could enter it due to an edict made when it was destroyed. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition Revised, p. 319 External Links * Poison Marsh (Heaven and Earth) Category:Naga Holdings